Over the last decade, communication networks are commonly used for transporting data. As networks grow ever more critical, there has been recent improvements to Layer 2 (L2) network reliability. Such improvements have been accomplished using Split Multilink Trunking (SMLT), which avoids the downfalls of Spanning Tree Protocol. SMLT provides multiple paths from all edge devices in a network into the core of the network in order to eliminate all single points of failure and minimize the amount of time required to re-route around device failures. SMLT is described in a co-pending U.S. patent application entitled “System, Device, and Method for Improving Communication Network Reliability,” (application Ser. No. 10/125,654 filed Apr. 18, 2002) which is incorporated by reference herein.
While SMLT avoids the disadvantages associated with Spanning Tree Protocol and improves L2 network reliability, it does not address failover and recovery associated with Layer 3 (L3) networks. Of course, it is appreciated that SMLT may be used in connection with Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), namely the VRRP BackupMaster feature, to achieve quicker L3 failover and recovery. However, this particular failover and recovery process is protocol dependent.